Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methods and systems for managing sets of structured data such as documents and more particularly to managing common elements of structured data to provide for dynamic presentations of portions of the data.
Software applications continue to grow in size and scope. For example, applications such as enterprise applications, span a wide variety of different possible implementations and provide extensive and every increasing features and functionality. Accordingly, the documentation related to these applications continues to grow in volume. For example, information and associated images (e.g. screen shots, flow diagrams and table) related to a product releases is organized and assembled into lengthy, static documents distributed in PDF or other formats. These documents are occasionally updated and re-distributed to customers/users of the described application, regardless of products purchased or the features and/or functions being implemented by the individual customer/user.
However, since these documents are so extensive, they are cumbersome if not burdensome for the customers/users. For example, portions of a document describing a feature not implemented by a particular customer are not relevant to that customer. As a results, customers and users have been known to cut and paste the static document (either electronically or using paper/scissors/tape) to organize and utilize the content relevant to their needs. With the previous approaches, employees of the customer or software provider would have to generate individual items regarding the products and then the information would be assembled, edited and managed though several tiers of staff to prepare and eventually publish an approved document presented in one complete view of information (data). The process could take months if not a year. And, once the information was published a series of distribution methods had to be deployed to get the document to interested parties. There has not been an approach to handling such information or documentation in which information generation is dynamic and documents can be updated instantly. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for managing sets of structured data such as documents.